Smug cyclist...

After rushing home tonight I managed to get a second coat of primer onto the frame and fork and it’s looking much better already. Amazingly the stuff I used (Rust Kill Etch Primer) is touch dry in only 5 minutes, which takes a lot of stress out of the process.

Also I was lucky enough to find my Red Cross parcel from my brother has arrived containing two Shimano RSX STI levers in absolutely perfect condition, a spacer for the rear wheel and some downtube cable stops.

My new 12-24 cassette is on its way from Hong Kong and I’m hoping to be able to get the topcoats on this weekend and then start thinking about the build further.

I’m thinking white cables to go with the white/black bar tape and to contrast nicely with the ‘ocean’ paint job.

I just stripped, cleaned and reassembled a rear derailleur.

It only took me a month to work it out.

Last night I went and bought a new tool in order to help me remove the bottom bracket from the Repco. Again I was thwarted, it seems seized in and frankly this is beginning to get to me, it seems like every step forward is accompanied by two steps back.

So I have come up with a Plan B, I’ve arranged to buy back the trusty Schwinn Prelude I started riding on. 

This may seem like a backwards way of doing things but the main reason I got rid of the Schwinn was that the gearing was what I found to be the aspect that let it down. For a K-Mart bike it was always surprisingly good, reasonably light and responsive, with reasonable stock parts and so it has become my new plan for building a bike with gears.

I will use the new wheelset and cassette which is on order, together with a new chain, bar tape and the STI levers my brother is sending me from the UK. I’m going to clean up the frame and respray the fork as I had originally intended. She’s going to get a new lease of life, and hopefully give me a new bike for some longer rides this summer, and one that will be a little easier to work on without any of the compatibility issues which I have been experiencing with this project so far.

Fingers crossed.